NORFOLK, Va. -- A balanced attack led Norfolk State to a 72-58 victory against High Point on Wednesday night at Joseph Echols Hall. Five players scored at least five points in the win for the Spartans.

The Spartans (2-2) were led by Chanette Hicks' 25 points and five assists, while La'Deja James added 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Blaire Thomas continued to control the glass, adding another seven rebounds along with her nine points. Mikaela Jones finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds. De'Janaire Deas added seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

Five minutes into the first quarter, the Spartans held on to a 9-8 lead. That changed very quickly with a 13-1 run by NSU to close out the quarter, led by Jones with six points of her nine points during that span.

The Spartans started quickly in the second quarter as well, opening up a 35-18 lead after a layup by Hicks with 3:03 left in the first half. The Panthers (1-4) responded with a run of their own, outscoring NSU 10-1 in the last three minutes of the half to cut the Spartans' lead to 36-28. Skylar Curran led High Point with eight of the 10 points during the Panthers' run. Curran did her best to keep the Panthers in the game, at one point connecting on five straight jumpers and finished the contest with a team-high 22 points.

The first half was a game of runs for both teams, but the second half had a completely different feel with both teams grinding it out until the end.  Both teams matched each other as the Panthers kept clawing to keep the score within striking distance, heading into the final quarter down 50-41.

In the fourth quarter the Panthers were never able to cut the Spartans' lead to lower than eight, with the score at 62-54 after a three-pointer by Camryn Brown with 3:16 left in the game. From there the Panthers were forced to start fouling NSU with around two minutes left in the game. A combination of Hicks, James, and Dana Echols iced the game by converting on their free throws. The trio shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the last two minutes of the game, and 8-of-8 in the final 60 seconds.

The Spartans held the rebounding advantage 45-36. The Spartans were also efficient from the field, converting 44.1% of their shots compared to the Panthers 32.8%. The Spartans forced 16 turnovers, with nine coming off steals.

The Spartans return to Echols Hall on Friday for a 6 p.m. matchup against La Salle.